Saturday, February 13, 2021

Iraq: Bears chase people, dogs are put down, the government steals the money

Friday's snapshot did not include 'good news.'  Specifically, a woman e-mailed to complain that we didn't highlight the good news of Thursday's bear release.  No, Moqtada al-Sadr hadn't gone off the down low and come out.  The bear in question was bears (plural) and animals.  Ari Jalal (REUTERS) had a photo of animal rights activists releasing a bear out of captivity, for example.


The woman writes in her e-mail, "You do not give enough space to animal rights.  You really give none.  And you say you cover Iraq but here was good news that we could all celebrate and you ignored it."


It's not my job to cover feel-good stories, first off.  Secondly, Iraq has a long history of animal rights abuses -- including ones the US government took part in.  We're the only ones, this site right here, in the US that repeatedly noted new buildings that had ceremonies with Iraqi and US officials that also had animal rights sacrifices.  Because those sacrifices were taking place in Iraq.  And a US State Dept friend begged me to stop covering that.  But we continued to, as long I knew about, we continued to cover it here.


Third?  Your 'feel good' story?  It's not what you think it is but, if you need it covered, here it is.


Felix Allen (THE SUN) reports:


REPORTERS and police sprint for safety as a group of caged bears go on the attack moments after being released into the wild.

The chaotic scene was captured in these dramatic pictures of a wildlife conservation project in northern Iraq yesterday.

Six Syrian brown bears - some said to have been rescued from people's homes - were taken from towns in the south to their new home in the Gara mountains.

Steel cages were lined up on a wall, surrounded by a large crowd of cameramen, armed security guards and onlookers.

Moments after the cages were opened, the panicking bears charged towards the crowd.

Terrified spectators were pictured running to escape the beasts as the release ceremony descended into chaos.


Emilia Jiang (DAILY MAIL) reports:

Dramatic pictures captured the moment terrified spectators fled for their lives after a group of bears launched an unexpected attack on their rescuers while being released back into the wild in Iraq.

Six Syrian brown bears that were saved from captivity in people's homes were being freed during a wildlife conservation project in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq yesterday.

But moments after the cages were opened, the raging bears charged towards the crowd of onlookers and journalists as the ceremony descended into chaos.


Joshua Zitser (INSIDER) reports:


The bears were released into the wild as part of a special ceremony organized by the Kurdish American Cooperation Organization, a local charity that has set rescued bears free on two other occasions, the news agency said.

Moments after the activists unlocked the cages, the ceremony descended into chaos. The unleashed bears panicked and lunged at onlookers, according to The Sun.

People were then forced to run for their lives, News.com.au reported.


Hope everyone feels better now and that we're 'informed.'


Here's a story that matters, Sean Rayment (MIRROR) reports:


An SAS soldier has slammed the military for destroying nearly 1,200 combat dogs.

The sergeant says more should be done to stop so many being put down once they have outlived their usefulness.

The veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, who is one of several special forces dog handlers, said: “These incredibly brave dogs have saved the lives of a lot of soldiers.

“It’s absolutely tragic that they are being destroyed at the end of their working lives.”

Army veterinarians killed 380 from 2013 to 2019, Freedom of Information requests obtained by the Sunday People show.



 Iraq is an oil-rich country but its people live in poverty.



Ranked as the fourth-biggest oil producer in the world, many would assume that Iraq has the financial resources to weather the pandemic. But that is not the case - its fragile economy is struggling to cope and it may turn to the International Monetary Fund for assistance. It has already devalued its currency by almost a fifth, enabling it to eke out more dinars for dollars. Ahmed Tabaqchali, the chief investment officer of AFC Iraq Fund, helps explain where all of Iraq's money goes. Plus, Dr Azeddine Ibrahimi, director of MedBiotech, tells us why mRNA is the pandemic's breakthrough technology.


ALJAZEERA notes Iraq's ''fragile economy is struggling to cope and it may turn to the International Monetary Fund for assistance. It has already devalued its currency by almost a fifth, enabling it to eke out more dinars for dollars."


Meanwhile, this morning Hiwa Shilani (KURDISTAN 24) reports, "The High Committee for Health and National Safety in Iraq is scheduled to hold a meeting on Saturday to decide whether to suspend classes at schools and universities following a rapid rise in coronavirus infections across the country. Iraq recorded on Friday over 2,500 new cases over the previous 24 hours, the highest rate reported by the Ministry of Health in several weeks, and officials warned that the increase heralded an outbreak of a second wave that may be more deadly than the first due to the residents' negligence in adhering to preventive measures like mask wearing and social distancing."  Now?  Khazan Jangiz (RUDAW) reports:


A national health and safety committee decided on Saturday to impose restrictions on movement and social gathering in Iraq as cases of the coronavirus in the country grow in number, state media has reported.

A curfew will be in place from 8 pm to 5 am for two weeks beginning February 18, a source told state media of the national committee’s decision.

Schools, universities, salons, parks, wedding and funeral venues and sites of religious congregation will be closed from February 15 until further notice, the source said, with schools and universities to return to virtual teaching.

An official statement on said measures has not been released, but Dr Jawad al-Musawi, a Sairoon bloc MP and a member of the parliament's crisis cell, praised the decision to temporarily close schools and universities. 


We'll wind down with this from Caitlin Johnstone:


Biden may be trying to extradite a journalist for exposing US war crimes, and he may be inflicting mass murder and starvation sanctions on disobedient governments around the world to ensure perpetual global domination, but at least America voted out fascism.

❖

The “two” party puppet show is always fake. Always, always, always, always. When you get really into a movie you forget it’s a movie. You don’t see the screen, you don’t see the actors; you’re enthralled by the show. Getting caught up in the puppet show is the same: buy into any part of it and you lose sight of reality. As soon as you mentally reify it because you really like this or that Democrat or really hate this or that Republican, you lose your ability to see what’s happening. You lose sight of the puppeteers and the strings as you clap along with the performance like a child.

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There is no meaningful difference between a government with one status quo-enforcing party and a government with two status quo-enforcing parties.

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We inhabit two worlds: the real world and the narrative world. In the narrative world, the US drastically changed on January 20th. In the real world―the world minus its narrative soundtrack―all the money, weapons, troops and people are moving basically the same as they were on January 19th.

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If President Biden had all the exact same policies and positions but an (R) next to his name, American conservatives would be ferociously defending him from liberal attacks. If parallel universes exist this is definitely happening in one of them.

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The most dangerous predators are the ones you don’t see. It’s true in nature, it’s true in interpersonal relationships, and it’s true in politics.



The following sites updated:



 



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